Nathan McFadden, manager of hockey operations for the AHL, was at Saturday's Crunch-Marlies game. He's the man with the encyclopedic knowledge of all of the league's waiver rules. He explained to me how, at the very least, Mark Hartigan cannot come back to hurt Syracuse this year.

Hartigan is on recall to Columbus. To be sent to Syracuse, he'd have to clear NHL waivers. It's possible he could be taken by another team.

Here's the catch: If Hartigan was claimed by another NHL team, he'd immediately become idle and could not play for the rest of this season in the NHL or the AHL. That's because the claim would come past the NHL trade deadline, which was Thursday.

Hartigan has another year left on his contract, so he could remain property of and play for that new organization next year. But he could not be grabbed by Vancouver, for example, and then immediately skate for the Canucks or Manitoba this year. By rule, Hartigan must finish the season with Columbus or Syracuse, or remain on the sidelines in another organization.